Interesting facts

Eggs: Something I did not realize when I go to breakfast is the health benefits of eggs. Since the yolk was made to give the chick nutrition and protection from diseases, they are loaded with things that are healthy for humans as well.

Yogurt: the other interesting fact I saw was the benefits of eating yogurt. I found that it was said to be healthier than drinking a glass of milk. It supposedly contains more vitamins, calcium and minerals. Now I can feel even healthier enjoying yogurt, which I think tastes better and is more satisfying than milk anyways.

SE5: Are Your Brains Dried Too?

Sarah Heermann

5/15/2012

Writ 1122

SE5

Are Your Brains Dried Too?

Dried fruit has always been a convenient snack to grab on the go, and is typically one that will leave your conscious guilt free; it is fruit after all right? Of all the different varieties and adaptations of dried fruit, none are as popular as the raisin. No other dried fruit can match its convenience and strong association as a healthy children’s snack. But despite the hype of the health benefits and the family friendly mental picture associated with dried fruit and especially raisins, the truth about this popular snack is rather dark.  Perhaps the dried fruit you find yourself snacking on is not the health food you were lead to believe it is.

            I had always thought of dried fruit as healthy, friendly and a positive addition to my diet. Eating healthy, as it does with most people, made me feel good about myself. Eating dried fruit often made me walk a little taller with my nose in the air, but this snobby symptom came to an abrupt halt when I learned about the sugar content of this “nature’s candy”.  Often dried fruit such as raisins contain more sugar than the original fruit! Why such the increased sugar content? When fruit loses its water as it dries, it concentrates the natural sugars already in the fruit, but what makes this problematic is that the sugar then crystalizes. This crystalized sugar becomes harder to digest, and the concentrated sugar makes the body tend to engulf and absorb it all, instead of utilizing the water contained in wet fruit to flush a portion of this sugar out. Raisin’s sugar content is increased by 11.5%, and other fruit such as plums sugar content can be increased by as much as 13.6%. (Vanaman)  Sadly, producers still consider their fruit not sweet enough in its already sugar- infused state. Many dried fruits have unnatural sugar added to them, like fructose and sucrose, especially bitter fruits such as cranberries. (Vanaman)  

            However, the most alarming addition is not the sugar, but the toxic chemical sulfur dioxide used on the fruit to prevent the spoiling and browning of the dried fruit. Long-term exposure causes server illnesses and death. (McCoy)  The food industry appears to have adopted the same motto as the fashion world, “It’s better to look good than feel good”! The appearance of the fruit looks nearly 25% fresher after being treated with the toxic gas, and since freshness increases sales this is likely a fad that will stick. (McCoy)

Although dried fruit has the sneaky hidden blow of added sugar, it does have some health benefits. Dried raisins contain 3% protein and 3.5% dietary fiber, additionally they contain antioxidants. (Frehn) But before you start substituting dried fruit with the real stuff, consider the lower vitamins found in raisins versus grapes. Vitamin c was found to be 50% less in raisins than grapes and vitamin a was as much as 65% reduced. (Frehn)

The benefits of eating dried fruit can be gained by eating fresh fruit, and by doing so you can avoid the added sugar and toxic chemicals. Sucrose and sulfur dioxide are simply last year and out of style. Not only will they make you gain some lb.’s but could cause brain damage too.  If you are going to go through the trouble to be health conscious, you might as well choose something actually good for you. Next time you reach for dried fruit, go for candy instead, it’s just as healthy!

Vanaman, Bonnie. "The Percentage of Sugar in Dried Fruit."Livestrong.com. Livestrong, 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/302660-what-is-the-percentage-of-sugar-in-dried-fruits/>.

Frehn, Jenifer . "Eating legumes, brown rice and dried fruit may decrease risk of colorectal cancer." News Medical. Loma Linda University, 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110803/Eating-legumes-brown-rice-and-dried-fruit-may-decrease-risk-of-colorectal-cancer.asp&xgt;.

McCoy, Kittie . "The Health Risks of Sulfur Dioxide in Dried Fruits Read more: The Health Risks of Sulfur Dioxide in Dried Fruits." ehow. Demand Media Inc., 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5514704_health-sulfur-dioxide-dried-fruits.html>.

Food Journal Observations

I noticed a lot of our diets are constrained and depend on the amount of time they had to enjoy a meal. The majority of meals were eaten quickly and on the go with little concern for enjoyment and healthiness of the meal and most of the concern on eating something quickly. Most if any meals that were eaten for the enjoyment of companions were during dinner instead of breakfast or lunch.

P8:Food Journal: woes of the sick

Wednesday: I usually wake up about 8 to get ready for school, but Wednesday I woke up an hour early to study an extra hour for a midterm test. As I usually do when I think a cold is around the corner, I took a package of emergen-c right as I woke up. At 8:30 I headed to breakfast before my 9:00 class. I chose something heavier than usual, a wheat bagel with peanut butter and washed it down with nasty sodexo 2% milk, to make sure I could focus on my test that ended at noon, instead of a rumbling stomach. I also grabbed a banana and ate it on the way to class. For lunch I  ate an apple on the way to writ class, and once we were there, we all went out to get a pop chip sample, I chose Jalapeno flavor and so I then went and bought a mango flavored Sobe drink to get rid of the spicy burn.  For dinner I had a salad at around 6:00 at the dinning halls, I chose a spinach base and put on egg, onion, peppers and mushrooms with mustard sauce. I also grabbed a dinner roll.

Thursday: After my emergen-c,  I ate a fruit pafeie at Jazzmans and drank a cup of Americano coffee while preparing for a spanish interview. For lunch I  microwaved a bowl of oatmeal and chopped up an apple and sprinkled it in. I drank tazo green tea from a bag and then ate an orange separately. For dinner I ate at the dinning halls, I had the mystery white fish and long grain wild rice with broccoli. it was alright, but I only ate half the fish! latter that night I watched a movie with my friend and we ate some Act II microwavable popcorn at around midnight. then to celebrate our colds we took NyQuil and went to bed.

Friday: Although I woke up several times before, I did not actually get out of bed until 2 in the afternoon. My cold was really hitting me hard and the NyQuil made me groggy. My friend and I met up and we had lunch/breakfast at Brueggers. I ordered orange juice and their breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese and bacon on a sea salt and peppercorn bagle. when I was back in my room I drank my emergen-c (almost forgot) and went back to bed. At 6 I woke up again and I drnak tazo green tea, a jimmy johns ham sandwich sample the event at nagel was passing out earlier, and an apple. I ate again at 9 with my sick friend, we had chicken noodle soup from Safeway and shared a small loaf of sourdough bread to compliment the soup. we topped it off with some powdered chai tea he brought from South Dakota, and took another shot of NyQuil before calling it a day.

SE4: Family Ties

Sarah Heermann

5/4/2012

Writ SE 6

Family Ties

It was always a celebration for me to visit my grandmother. My grandfather and her lived only five miles away in the same town, but they enjoyed travelling and growing up I only ever saw them once about every three months. Each time we got together, I enjoyed catching up with her, but the best part was the traditional meal that always followed. It was the same meal everyone looked forward to on all holidays, all family gatherings, and any time you were with grandma. This specialty was chicken noodles. Not the watery soup, but the kind made with homemade thick egg noodles with tender chicken, freshly mashed potatoes underneath, all topped with fresh ground pepper. The result was a rich and creamy plate that was the ultimate comfort food. The focus for me though, was always on the noodle. The success of the meal depended on the success of the noodle itself. The perfect noodle added texture yet was still complementary to the chicken and potatoes. Because of this significant connection to my grandmother and the meal itself, noodles have always been a food that I enjoy and look forward to eating. They represent more than just a meal to me. They give me the feeling of comfort and family, and so I naturally became curious about their history. Just as if I were tracing my family tree, I plan on looking at the origins and properties of the egg noodle, and what makes them so good.

“The texture of the noodle is the most important.” Is what my grandmother always said, and in this case the experts agree. Texture and consistency are a main concern regarding egg noodle quality. According to Wiley Online Library, cooked noodles should remain firm and not lose solids in cooking water, and should not become sticky and soggy when standing after cooking (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni) .  The main ingredient that maintains this high standard of crispiness is one called Semolina.  Due to gluten development, it makes noodles firm in bite, less starchy, and resistant to overcooking. The quality of the noodle is often determined by its Semolina percent content (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni).

After this discovery, I became curious about this “father” of the egg noodle, and found that Semolina is actually the soft center of any kind of grain. However, wheat is most commonly used in the egg noodle (Conant). The most common kind of wheat to use for semolina is Duran wheat, a hard wheat variety with very high gluten content and high protein to carbohydrate ratio. Durum wheat is more coarsely ground than other flours and the milling process naturally separates the endosperm (the soft center) from the rest of the grain (Conant).  Semolina is a favorite of noodle makers because of its resiliency to the pasta making process. It retains its shape in cooking, even if overcooked.

While semolina provides texture and quality, the other main ingredient is of course, egg. Egg also improves cooking quality, but its main function is that it strengthens the network that holds in the starch during cooking (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni). This was interesting to me, because there would seemingly be a starch battle inside of every cooking noodle. The egg ingredient fights to hold in starch while the Semolina struggles to release starch. I pictured a battle scene in my head, with the noodle eventually disentigrating in the water just from indecision.  But these ingredients actually work in harmony to achieve an “agreed” upon level of starch, without violence. The different amounts of each ingredient is what makes noodles different tasting from each other, from extremely starchy and high egg content to less starchy and high semolina content (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni). The protein in the eggs also aids in stabilizing, forming, and enhancing the flavor of the noodle, but perhaps the most important role of the egg is the deep yellow the yolk brings to the noodle (Khouryieh, Herald, and Aramouni).  Without the yolk, the noodle would take on a white color or even become transparent. A deep rich color is the most desirable, and according to my grandmother, indicates freshness.

The ingredients of the noodle and what make the noodle high quality was interesting to me. I did not know that the ingredient semolina was involved, nor did I know the role the egg actually played in noodle cooking.  Like learning a little bit of my own family history, I feel a more connected now to the food that has such an importance to me. Understanding more about the noodle and the ingredients involved will help me become a better shopper and cook. Noodles connect me to my grandmother, a sacred tie now that she has passed, and to the rest of my family that still remembers her mastery of the family favorite recipe, chicken noodles. These family gatherings and the meals we shared would not have had the same impact had the egg noodle not been a part of the recipe.

Resources

Conant, Patricia. "The Epicuren Table ." Grain Product Basics. theepicurentable.com, 2006. Web. 4 May 2012. <http://www.epicureantable.com/articles/agrainsemolina.htm>.

Khouryieh, Hanna, Tomas Herald, and Fadi Aramouni. "Quality and Sensory Properties of Fresh Egg Noodles Formulated with Either Total or Partial Replacement of Egg Substitutes." Wiley Online Library. Journal of Food Science, 2006. Web. 4 May 2012. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00060.x/full>.

P7: walk the walk

These articles were very shocking. I always find it very unsettling to hear there are still worker conditions like the ones described in these articles existing  in the world, and much more so that they are in the United States. We are a country that prides itself and stands for freedom and the voice and rights of the individual, at least this are what I have always been taught and brainwashed to think. I never really considered using the word brainwashed to describe national pride until I learned the more truthful version of history of our country. What I mean by this is that when we are little, like grade school or below, we always celebrate the 4^th of July and Columbus day, are told our country is the best, and sing the national anthem. I remember the first factual negative thing I ever learned in school was in the 6^th grade. It was the truth about Columbus treating the natives horribly by murdering and pillaging, before this I thought it was some kind of huge celebration that Columbus arrived as though they had been waiting for him and celebrated his presence. I also assumed, for no reason, that thye spoke the same language and instantly took to a conversation that began “what is your name?” like all meetings do when you are below the age of 10.

I got off an a tangent there but my thought was this: we are brainwashed into thinking everything is perfect in our country and completely miss the fact that things such as slavery exists in the U.S. today. I am shocked I had no prior knowledge of this. Personally the food info. Was gross but I don’t really care when it comes with the fact that workers are losing limbs and are treated as slaves and have to live in the forest and cant afford to buy protection from horrible chemicals that cause them to go blind. Especially when the government has put off investigation for over ten years. My first thought on that is somewhere some very rich guy is having to cough up a lot of dough(not enough though) to keep this on hold. My second is how shameful I feel that a country such as ours and the high ideals we so often talk about are not followed remotely. We are talking the talk but certainly not walking the walk. 

P6: Free but Freethinkers?

Pollan talks about how our relationship with food can determine how we eat it, and in turn controls our weight and healthiness. He made the argument that if we were less conscious about food, enjoyed it for the taste and company, not go back for seconds and not snack, we would be thinner like the French and also enjoy eating more as a whole. Our symptoms/ causes of our unhealthy eating is actually worrying about it too much, and trying too hard to be healthy. Instead of listening to our bodies and scenes such as taste and smell, Americans as a whole tend to over-analyze our food and trust the sciences instead. He says we have “lost our confidence” in food and our sciences, and I believe he is absolutely right. If we listened to our tastes and took smaller portions I think we would be both happier and healthier. We should choose quality over quantity.

I thought his view on the marketing and corruption of the diet was also really interesting. I never considered how much money there was in the diet industry and how much it is controlled and commercialized. They condemn one product or ingredient only to praise another one and start an entire eating revolution.  He put it kind of comically when he described how fascinating it was that an entire country’s eating habits could change overnight. It only takes one article in a popular news magazine, a show on the tv, or a newspaper article before everyone jumps on the bandwagon and begins to diet.